BEYOND THE SHADOW OF DOUBTPART ONE

By Stanley J. ElFounder & President of The National Society of American Business Owners

There is absolutely no way to achieve any real or permanent happiness or success whenyou are driven by fear and doubt. These are not the qualities that bring success of any kindand have never been. They are wholly destructive to any individual who entertains themlong enough. Fear and doubt also repel those individuals who possess qualities that may be of assistance to you. Fear and doubt are barriers to creativity and can bind an individualinto limitations, frustration and distress.The one thing to be aware of when addressing the issue of doubt and fear in one's feelingsis their very subtle actions. Everyone has experienced the effects of fear and doubt.Everyone has experienced how fear and doubt can cause traumatic situations or conditionsto occur. There are countless incidents every day where an individual's fear triggered anaction that resulted in tragedy.Time and time again people have awakened to find marvelous opportunities lost becauseof doubt and fear. People literally cage themselves in their own homes for lack of courageto go beyond what they know exist in the world around them.Fear and doubt are not attributes of greatness. Fear and doubt are not qualities of successof any kind. Fear and doubt are the only real enemies to progress and they have been usedto grip the consciousness of mankind for ages.Long has fear and doubt been used to suppress mankind; hold a grip upon the people of nations, organizations, and relationships. People have allowed themselves to fall intocircumstances through fear and doubt that have trapped them into distress almostindefinitely. We know these situations exist and they can only be remedied through self-control and self-correction. This means having a greater understanding of Life and Itsactions, especially through the feelings.The majority of people do not seem to understand what role the feelings have in their experiences. Traditionally, the attention of mankind has been directed to the accumulationof knowledge as the means for gaining power or success. This has not been proven correctin any age. First, knowledge must be used to have any real value to anyone. Second,without determination, which is a feeling, nothing would be accomplished, regardless of the amount of knowledge possessed. Third, without control of the feelings knowledgewould be like dynamite sitting in the midst of a raging fire.Doubt and fear are wholly destructive qualities that must be stamped out of existence inthe individual's world. This is the only way the ideas, ideals, and understanding requiredfor success can be revealed. Nothing else matters, for doubt and fear merely close thedoor to anything anyone could offer you for your benefit.

Fear has in many instances been explained as a result of ignorance, which means a lack of understanding. The willingness to learn can only come from the determination toovercome whatever fears exist within and about an individual. Mankind understands morethan what we are given credit for. No one in their right mind wants to live in limitation anddistress. Lack of understanding is not necessarily due to fear. There exist a tremendousopportunity for those who do understand and accept the Truths of Life and its Actions to bring others to greater understanding. That takes courage and a willingness to assistothers for the shear joy of doing it!Strip away the fears and doubts of the people of the world and see what remains. Theimpossible will be done instantly. The wretched criminal minds of individuals who seek tosuppress and destroy mankind would cease to exist. There would be anchored into theconsciousness of mankind a presence of power and self-control that would generate suchmastery over outer world conditions that it would stun the imagination. This 'Presence' of power and self-control is the True Destiny of mankind; not total destruction. Why wouldan individual desire anything else? Evidence is everywhere. Mankind's True Nature is progress; Ever-expanding Perfection. Each and every individual on the planet is proof of this. No one wants to do worse than they did yesterday. We are compelled to do better each day. We are compelled toward complete happiness and peace; not fear and doubt. Itis no wonder people can die from fright. It is no wonder individuals experience povertyand distress, as they become victims of extreme doubt.Doubt is fear. Never doubt anything that is good or constructive. Never doubt your idealsor dreams of happiness or success. Doubt is the shadow of a dismal and dark existence. No one wants to be in darkness. Accepting the darkness as a part of your life is certainlydue to ignorance. Everyone has the right to reject ignorance, doubt and fear. We have thefree will; the power of choice to accept or reject anything we please. That is what we mustunderstand. In the interest of progress; in the interest of every man, woman, and child,realize that the preservation of our earth depends on our abilities to overcome doubt, fear and distress.People seem to forget that stress and struggle are feelings. It is impossible to strugglewithout having the feeling of struggle. This is the difference between opposition andopportunity. While those who go forth with strength and courage are experiencing oneextraordinary event after another, those who live in fear struggle day after day in anendless cycle only they can remedy.Happiness can only be complete without fear and doubt. Happiness is a feeling! Like fear and doubt an individual must understand that happiness is also a feeling, which can be justas much a part of their daily experience as doubt or fear. Individuals have to takecommand of their feelings. They have to understand that the feeling is truly the powerhouse of their experiences and accomplishments in this world. You either controlyour feelings or something else does. In either case, it is the control of your life that is atstake. The constant battle and torture of ones self because of circumstances or incidentsmoment to moment is totally unnecessary. No earnest effort to gain self-control and tocorrect one self is wasted, although, it does take conscious effort. With determination

individuals have proven they can accomplish anything and in the worse conditions. Evenchildren prove this true. As children, we rose above all opposition to our true nature. Thatis why we are still here. Our nature compels us to move forward. Fear, doubt and strugglemerely cause the inevitable to be an experience that lacks happiness, joy and freedom. Our nature is to progress. Removing from our experiences doubt, fear, and distress allows our natural state of being to mature quickly and easily. That natural state of being is peace,freedom, joy and happiness.We all love rest. We love the moments of peace and quiet. We love to express ourselves infun and activities shared with others. We enjoy accomplishing what we seek to do toimprove ourselves and the conditions around us. These are not myths, but reality. This isthe only reality mankind needs to accept; a reality of joy, peace, freedom of expression andhappiness. This reality will never change. It cannot change because it goes beyond the purpose of existence.The things and conditions in the world that cause fear can very well be used to generatestrength and determination. Mankind is much more comfortable in moments of strengthand courage than we are in fear and doubt. There is no comfort in distress. This is becausethese things; doubt, fear, and distress are unnatural to us. We are not meant to be burdened by these horrific experiences and never were. Fear, doubt and distress aredestructive qualities that cause illness, old age, insanity and even death. Joy, courage andstrength, on the other hand, have been proven to overcome all limitations; even death.These constructive qualities have lifted mankind time after time after time out of miseryand limitations. We are the proof. If at any time during our life's experiences we wouldhave given in to fear and doubt totally we would have destroyed ourselves. We are proof that fear, doubt and distress have no real power over us. Any power they possess existonly as long as we entertain them and accept their torturous appearance. We are proof thatfear, doubt, and distress are not reality. They are not a part of the True Nature of mankind.They are the product of destructive intent. They feed off the power given to them throughour attention and acceptance. As we all know sooner or later, they have their end.Fortunately, for most of us they end with our determination to rise above their treacherousgrip; to claim our dominion and control of circumstances confronting us.Speaking of the circumstances confronting us each day, let us try to understand the actionsof Life and what 'experience' offers. Experience is an action of Life. There is no avoidingexperience and its purpose is to build within us a momentum of energy to use in handlingconditions and creating what we envision to improve conditions. We learn fromexperience. In fact, experience is the only real means of learning. It is through experiencethat we know a thing to be true. No one can prove anything outside of his or her ownexperience. Experiences in learning are as diverse as there are moments in time. Once werealize this, we begin to see how experiences exist in every moment. We are always havinga present or current experience. These experiences that we are having moment-to-momentcan be raised in their qualities. Experience under the direction of an individual can beraised in quality to exceed what we consider normal expectations. Every child is anexample of this. For a young child experiences can be filled with extraordinary joy andtremendous reward. Children have an ability to reject or release fears and doubts quicklyand easily. This natural ability seems to fade as we develop into adults. The fact is, our